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‘Original Sin’: Inside the controversial book that exposes Joe Biden’s alleged decline and campaign cover-up

Journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s upcoming book 'Original Sin' claims White House aides debated wheelchair use for Biden, a claim the former President’s team has disputed

The book, Original Sin, paints a damning portrait of 82-year-old Biden’s final months in the US Presidential race. (Generated using AI)

An upcoming book has reignited the debate over President Joe Biden’s fitness for office during his ill-fated 2024 re-election campaign as it reportedly alleges that his inner circle concealed his “physical deterioration” while privately discussing drastic measures, including the possibility of using a wheelchair.

The book, Original Sin, co-authored by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson, draws on interviews with over 200 sources to paint a damning portrait of 82-year-old Biden’s final months in the race. The book, set for release this week (May 20), claims that aides were so concerned about the 81-year-old president’s health that they strategised ways to minimise his public struggles, including but not limited to shortening his walking distances, ensuring he used handrails, and even weighing whether he might need a wheelchair after the election.

Original Sin

‘We got so screwed by Biden’

The book quotes David Plouffe, a top strategist for Vice President Kamala Harris’s replacement campaign, saying, “We got so screwed by Biden as a party,” as per the BBC. Biden’s abrupt withdrawal in July 2024, following a disastrous debate debacle against Donald Trump, left Democrats scrambling with Harris entering the race just 107 days before Election Day.

One of the most explosive claims involves Biden’s apparent memory lapses, including an incident at a Hollywood fundraiser where he reportedly failed to recognise host George Clooney, despite the actor’s high-profile support. Days later, Clooney publicly called for Biden to step aside in a New York Times op-ed, dealing a major blow to the campaign.

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Biden pushes back

Biden’s team has disputed the book’s assertions. A spokesperson for Biden told the BBC: “Evidence of aging is not evidence of mental incapacity.”

Original Sin alleges that Biden’s physician, Dr Kevin O’Connor, privately warned that another fall could necessitate a wheelchair—a detail aides allegedly kept under wraps. The authors also describe a culture of denial, with Biden’s family and closest advisors convinced only he could defeat Trump, despite visible decline.

“The decision to run again, the Original Sin of this president, led to a campaign of denial and gaslighting, leading directly to Donald Trump’s return to power and all that has happened as a consequence. Rarely does hubris meet nemesis more explosively,” the authors say.

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A Greek tragedy for democrats?

Positioned as a “reckoning with one of the most fateful decisions in American political history,” the book frames Biden’s refusal to bow out earlier as an act of hubris that ultimately handed Trump a second term. “In the name of saving democracy,” the authors write, “Biden’s team may have doomed it.”

As the controversy rages, it is clear that the wounds of 2024, and questions about leadership, transparency, and age in politics continue to resonate.